User Reviews

Cacio e Vino

Posted by Jennie on 12/19/2013

Best Sicilian Food!

I came here the other night with two of my girlfriends and must say, really had a very enjoyable experience. Two of us have been to Sicily and were craving some Arancini, which are traditional fried rice balls. They are not easy to find in the city, so we decided to give it a try. Everything we had was excellent. The menu has quite a few Sicilian dishes, I ordered the Busiate with Pesto Trapanese...delicious! One of us had Bucatini con Sarde and the third dish was Pork Spare Ribs. Both of the pastas were exactly like I remember from Sicily, apparently the owner is from Palermo. The Pork Ribs were perfectly cooked, full if flavor and to die for! Our waiter was a charming guy from Italy who made the meal all that much better. I live nearby and am definitely going to make this a regular place!

Cacio e Vino

Posted by Eugene on 07/07/2012

Not recommended

Me and my girlfriend had a dinner at this place a week ago. Looking through the deals at one of the group buying websites, we chose this place because all the dinners we had in Little Italy were amazing. Unfortunately, there's an exception now. My girlfriend went with fish of the day, which was sea bass with clams, mussels and shrimp. I ordered veal rolls on skrewers. We were both so disappointed with the food quality! The portions were small, I ate only half of mine - it didn't taste good, it definitely wasn't prepared to order, but sitting somewhere in a fridge for god knows how long! My girlfriend ate only fish, it was just ok, she tried shrimp and it was unappetizing, just as mussels and clams. Seafood wasn't fresh. Funny thing is that at the very beginning service promised to be excellent, but after we let servers know we had a coupon, everything changed - no one checked on us, server didn't even asked if everything was ok when he was taking dishes away with more than a half portion left on both plates! Our day in NYC was ruined by this place. I never wrote a review for any restaurant, but I knew I would do this when I was sitting there at the table yet. There are so many great REAL italian places around, please, choose a good one to keep your stomach and your mood fine!

Cacio e Vino

Posted by barbara624 on 05/01/2012

Pretty setting, warm service, and lots of good food

We took a chance on this East Village Sicilian restaurant for several reasons--the attractiveness of the place, the appealing menu, and the fact that it was busy on a Monday night. We were rewarded by a warm welcome by staff, attentive service, and some very good food, with a few exceptions. The big winners were our entrees, particularly the Anelletti Alla Palermitana. This arrives at the table as a giant balloon of golden pastry, beneath which is a meaty, cheesy, yummy baked pasta in a rich ragu. We loved the presentation but felt it would be even better with a different pasta (chunkier like fusilli or radiatore). The calzone is enormous, crusty and cheesy, and could serve more than one. the My friends found the wine a bit disappointing, a 2009 Italian red instead of the 2008 they had hoped to drink. The appetizers batted .500--the Sarde A Beccafico Con Cipollata was modest-sized, overpriced, and uninspired, while the rice ball (Arancina de riso) was huge, crisp, and very tasty. We also enjoyed the great crusty bread. We skipped dessert to head for 16 Handles, but truly, we were stuffed and sated. Thanks, Cacio e Vino, for a wonderful evening!

Cacio e Vino

Posted by lks on 02/23/2012

way too expensive for what it is

Good food but nothing special, small restaurant, rustic surroundings, good service but hefty prices for ordinary food. Will not go back

Cacio e Vino

Posted by David on 01/06/2012

Dissapointing food, given the hefty price

I was gifted a $40 gift certificate to this place from a friend who spoke so highly of it. I should have asked her what she ordered because I went with my partner and we were both disappointed by our meals. I ordered the seafood of the day, which I assumed would be fresh since, you know, it's "of the day". Basically it was deep fried calamari, shrimp, and cod. I have to say, I wouldn't surprise me if it were thawed seafood reheated in the oven. It wouldn't be worth $10 and it certainly wasn't worth the $25 I was charged. I honestly couldn't believe the poor quality of the food, but reading other reviews here, maybe I just had an off dish? Service and decor were satisfactory, but still lacking given the prices. But this is New York and one off dish is enough for me never to come back.

Cacio e Vino

Posted by AJJAS on 02/16/2011

Good but Different and Expensive Italian

While planning a weekend trip with my siblings I came across Cacio y Vino. Memories of a long ago, month long, Siciian college course ran through my mind as I imagined an Italian restaurant that offered more than the typical northern Italian cuisine. The atmosphere was good, with a rustic appearance and seating that is grouped closely. Yes it was a little noisy but the decibel level did not bother our group of 40 and 50 somethings. The Sicilian flatbread, calamari and Involtini di melanzane were all devoured and enjoyed, along with our warm bread and olive oil for appetizers. We stuck with the most inexpensive Chianti as our wine choice and to us out of towners it seemed quite expensive at $46. For the main courses we ordered Spaghetti cacio e piselli , Anelletti alla palermitana, Bucatini con le sarde and Tagliolini frutti di mare. Needless to say, the silence at the table was deafening as we all dug in and enjoyed our meals. Soon the sharing started followed by the inevitable sighs and moans as we all realized that our eyes where bigger then our stomachs. While every meal was thoroughly enjoyed, I will say that the Bucatini and Aneletti had a taste that I believe is unique to southern Italian cooking. With the Bucatini it was definitely the pairing of the fennel, sardines and raisins while we were all at a lose as to pinpoint the distinctiveness in the Aneletti. Overall the meal was greatly enjoyed and we all agreed to come back next time we visit NYC. Again, to our out of town wallets, the prices were quite expensive for pasta dishes.Go, enjoy and magia bene!

Cacio e Vino

Posted by Rebecca M on 01/22/2011

Tremendous Disappointmnt

If you enjoy eating poorly prepared food in a place where you can't hear what your companion is saying, and if the food you've ordered is poorly prepared, then this is your place. For appetizers we had the stuffed sardines (very fishy), the cod mousse (cold and bland), and for entrees the Branzino and the Stuffed rolettes of veal. Despite asking the waiter if the fish was really fresh and his assurance that it was, it wasn't. The veal was luke warm and tough. The only acceptable thing was the spinach that came with the veal. Since you are practically sitting on top of the tables next to you, you can get a good look at what other people are eating, and I have to admit that the pizzas looked good. But the noise and proximity of other diner was enough to encourage me never to return.